Today at 10.30 Kevin will be leading, Martin preaching.
Next Sunday, 1st June, our preacher will be Janet Baker.
Kerith will be in in the evening for worship and prayer at 8pm
Bookings this week:
Tue: No Ark (half-term) Thursday is Ascension Day
Wed: Line Dancing (church) 5.45-6.45 Sat: Party in church 12-3
Christian Aid: Gifts in envelopes came to £242.47, with Gift Aid to be added. A big thank you from Carol. And a big thank you to Carol as well.
SPRING BANK HOLIDAY is on Monday.
You can make many words with the letters of “SPRING BANK HOLIDAY” (perhaps not as many as you might think, as the phrase uses only 14 letters of the alphabet). Here are clues to words with FOUR LETTERS found in the phrase. References are to the NIV, in biblical order.
| 1. What God planned to send. (Genesis 7:4) | |
| 2. We need to – fast to God. (Deuteronomy 11:22) | |
| 3. What those who take refuge in God will be. (Psalm 5:11) | |
| 4. We are told to sing a new one to the Lord. (Psalm 96:1) | |
| 5. What God made the Psalmist. (Psalm 138:3) | |
| 6. The people’s sin has been – for. (Isaiah 40:2) | |
| 7. What a craftsman (foolishly) casts. (Isaiah 40:19) | |
| 8. The Lord – on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) | |
| 9. What one of the Magi brought. (Matthew 2:11) | |
| 10. The foolish man’s foundations. (Matthew 7:26) | |
| 11. (Peter), beginning to – cried out. (Matthew 14:30) | |
| 12. What Jesus did in Gethsemane. (Matthew 26:36) | |
| 13. The prodigal’s father called for one for his son. (Luke 15:22) | |
| 14. One of the descriptions of God’s love. (Ephesians 3:18) | |
| 15. What we should be, because God is. (1 Peter 1:16) |
Being Seen: Another Jeff Lucas article contributed by Ruth.
We all have a deep need to be seen. The first time we ride a bike without falling off, or successfully use a potty, when we score a goal or win that race, the need to be noticed is primal in us all, so much so that that hunger can create dysfunction.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees who adopted a ‘pray and display’ spirituality and exposed their desperate appetite to be both seen and celebrated. Jesus warned, ‘And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others’ (Matthew 6:5, NIV). And later, ‘Everything they do is done for people to see’ (Matthew 23:5, NIV).
But we all have a healthy need to be seen, and noticing is one of the wondrous attributes of God, as the Old Testament story of Hagar reveals. A slave who had been hauled out of her Egyptian homeland and taken across borders to Canaan, she was used and abused by Abraham and Sarah. A bewildered fugitive in the Sinai Desert, she bumped into an angel and heard her name spoken. In turn, she gave God a name: ‘You are the God who sees me.’ Hagar discovered this life-altering truth, one that’s affirmed throughout Scripture: when God sees, He cares.
Jesus saw people. A weeping widow from Nain passes by, and we read that Jesus saw her, and his heart went out to her. He saw people when they were at their worst. In the midst of hot denials with curses, Peter suddenly felt eyes upon him. Luke tells us, ‘The Lordturned and looked straight at Peter.’
Then there’s Zacchaeus. This tax gatherer had felt the icy freeze of many cold hard stares. And then Jesus came by, peered up into the branches, saw him and spoke his name. Being seen birthed a brand-new life. No passing glance this, but a look of total knowing and yet total love and commitment.
Some scientists say that we humans start to form impressions of others after seeing their face for less than one-tenth of a second. If they’re right, that means we decide at lightning speed if someone we meet is attractive, authentic, competent, or worthy of our time. Spotting that aggressive looking soul who has chosen to tattoo his body with profanities, we declare him a thug, and dangerous. But Jesus goes beyond the first glance. Let’s be like Him.
As Annie Dillard put it, ‘We are here to witness the creation and abet it. We are here to notice each thing, so each thing gets noticed. Together we notice not only each mountain shadow and each stone on the beach but, especially, we notice the beautiful faces and complex natures of each other… otherwise, creation would be playing to an empty house.’ (Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (1974)
Today, notice. Lives might change as we see. And the show that’s playing is spectacular. Whatever we do, let’s not miss it.
Ascension
Next Thursday is Ascension Day. Read the account in Acts 1:1-11.
This is a hymn written by Christopher Porteous ©C. Porteous/Jubilate Hymns (CCLI 5573)
It goes to the tune Jerusalem. – Try it in the shower!
| Lord, may we see your hands and side Touch you and feel your presence near. Lord could our eyes behold these clouds And watch you rising disappear. Help us to pray for your return To watch until you come to reign And be your witnesses through the world To speak and glorify your name. | Lord, unto you we lift our eyes Help us to live as you desire. Bring down upon us power to win Through tongues of Holy Spirit fire. Lord breathe upon us to receive The grace and love your Spirit gives And may we know you with us now Because in us your Spirit lives. |
SPRING BANK HOLIDAY – ANSWERS
| 1. Rain * | 4. Song | 7. Idol | 10. Sand | 13. Ring |
| 2. Hold | 5. Bold | 8. Laid | 11. Sink | 14. Long |
| 3. Glad | 6. Paid | 9. Gold | 12. Pray | 15. Holy |
* Well, this is a Bank Holiday quiz!